City fatal drug ODs reaches dozen this year | Local News

LACONIA — Twelve people died of a drug overdose this year in the city, compared to nine in all of last year and nine in 2016, according to police statistics.

The latest fatal overdose came Sunday night and involved a 25-year-old man who died at 175 Valley St., in the Lakeport area, police Chief Matt Canfield said.

A report to be presented to the city Police Commission on Wednesday shows officers responded to 100 overdose calls through the end of last month, compared to 146 all of last year.

The widespread availability of Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, may contribute to fewer calls, Canfield said.

Narcan available

“You can get Narcan at pharmacies,” he said. “People Narcan their friends and don’t even call for help. They don’t want medical help, so the actual number of overdoses is higher than the reported numbers.

“In fact, a year and a-half ago we did a search warrant on someone suspected of selling heroin, and every time he made a sale, he would give away a free Narcan kit. There were dozens and dozens of doses of Narcan in his apartment.

“He was giving his customers a precaution because he didn’t want them to die using the stuff he was selling.”

Statewide, about 100 people a month are having their lives saved through administration of Narcan, according to the New Hampshire Drug Monitoring Initiative.

In Laconia this year, the fire department says its paramedics administered Narcan 63 times through November. 

Public awareness

Phil Spagnuolo, a founding member of Navigating Recovery, said city statistics on fatal drug overdoses are a testament to the continuing danger of fentanyl, even as public awareness has grown about the highly potent synthetic opioid.

He said Narcan, which doesn’t require a prescripton and can be given with a simple nasal spray, prevents even more deaths. But, he added, there is a misconception about the medication.

“Some people think Narcan, if it’s more available, encourages more opioid use, but realistically that’s not the case,” Spagnuolo said.

Typically, family or friends of a person struggling with drugs may have Narcan on hand just in case it is needed, he said.

Holiday season

Spagnuolo said the holiday season can be a particularly difficult time of year for those with substance abuse problems.

“For people who are trying to stay sober, many are more vulnerable around the holidays,” he said. “Some don’t have family they are in touch with anymore. Some have kids who were taken away. There’s a lot of that, more kids in the system now than ever before.”

Lt. Brian Keyes, a firefighter/paramedic and recovery coordinator for the Laconia Fire Department, said a few months ago there appeared to be a glimmer of hope that fatal overdoses would be down this year compared to last.

He said he is not sure what accounts for the upswing. One problem is the variability of potency in fentanyl, he said.

“There’s no regulation,” he said. “Fentanyl on the street also varies in what additives it contains.”

Fentanyl mix

Canfield said heroin is often cut with fentanyl.

“A lot of it depends on the type of heroin coming in to the area,” Canfield said. “But the user doesn’t know the potency of the fentanyl or the percentage of fentanyl in the heroin.”

New Hampshire State Police said in a news release it investigated the presumptive drug overdose death of a 27-year-old man in Westmoreland and discovered an associate of the dead man had also overdosed, but the second man was revived by Narcan. Two people were arrested in connection with that incident.

Across the state, there were 330 drug deaths as of Dec. 7, according to the New Hampshire Office of Chief Medical Examiner. There are an additional 83 cases from this year where the cause of death is pending the results of toxicological testing. Such results can take up to three months to be available.

Most of those deaths were caused by opioids, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Last year, there were 488 drug deaths in New Hampshire, which represents an upward trend. In 2012, there were 163 drug deaths statewide, the medical examiner’s office said.

Nationally, there were about 72,000 drug overdose deaths last year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How to get help:

Brian Keyes, Laconia Firefighter/Paramedic Recovery Coordinator, 603-581-8355

Eric Adams, Laconia Police Department Prevention, Enforcement, Treatment Coordinator, 603-832-8323

Navigating Recovery of the Lakes Region, 635 Main St., Suite 303, Laconia, 603-524-5939

Horizons Counseling Center, 61 Beacon St. West, Laconia, 603-524-8005

Lakes Region General Hospital Recovery Clinic, 603-737-6047

New Hampshire Statewide Addiction Crisis Hotline, 1-844-711-4357

Information and Referral Services, call 2-1-1